Colonoscopy: The Sequel
I’m pleased to report that I made it through my second colonoscopy today.
The day started early. After about four hours of sleep, the alarm went off at 6:30 am. Normally, I would be dragging myself out of bed, but it was easy to get up this morning. It’s strange how anxiety strips away your tiredness.
The morning was rough. My body was complaining fiercely due to my forced liquid diet — consuming no real food in the last 31 hours. I was weak, unfocused and shaky. I was also dying for some water, but I wouldn’t be able to eat or drink until after the procedure.
Gary drove me to the endoscopy center in Plano where the colonoscopy would be conducted. I filled out paperwork and soon was ushered into a small room with a single bed and a privacy curtain. It was at this point that I started to get extremely anxious about the IV. For me, it is always the most dreaded part of any medical procedure.
The nurses were nice and tried to help calm my nerves. After letting them take my vitals, I explained that they would need to wait to put in the IV until the anesthesiologist was ready to administer the medication. That was a lesson I learned from my last colonoscopy. I don’t do well with an IV in my arm and no medication to calm me.
Gary came in to sit with me until the anesthesiologist came. It helped keep my mind off of what was about to come — the dreaded needle stuck into my vein. Finally, she showed up and did her thing. I endured it until I felt the sweet relief of the anesthesia flow through my body. At that point, my worries were over. I was wheeled into another room, and the rest of the procedure is lost in oblivion.
I slept most of the day and slowly started eating again. One thing’s for certain, I would never last long on a show like Survivor. Even though I don’t like food that much, I don’t do well without it either.
Anyway, it’s nice to have the procedure completed. Now I can quit obsessing about it and move on. It looks like my colitis is back, but that’s not a big surprise. It always flares up when I’m stressed. I’m sure with some medication, it’ll be under control again and I can get back to normal.
Thanks for the prayers!
